Excuses
by nidaba
Summary: NejiHina Future Fic Neji sees no point in drinking, but sometimes sake can be used as an excuse for saying things normally kept secret.


Excuses

Neji never drinks. He sees no point in willingly engaging in an activity that saps ones reasoning ability and self-control.

None of his friends seem to agree.

Naruto is dancing on the stage and singing some lewd song into the mic at an ear splitting volume. That isn't too surprising. What shocks Neji is the fact that Sasuke is dancing behind Naruto and singing along with him during the choruses. When the two of them start an impromptu striptease to the delight of the watching shinobi, Neji turns away.

Only to see an even more unbelievable sight. Ino and Sakura are kissing each other passionately…in Shikamaru's lap. The two women are giggling and stealing looks at Shikamaru out of the corner of their eyes as they make out inches from his face. Neji thinks he hears Shikamaru mutter something about women being troublesome, but when he sees Shikamaru's hands disappear beneath the two young women's skirts he decides the shinobi isn't as put out as he's pretending.

It was ridiculous. A group of grown jounin and anbu acting like a bunch of careless teenagers. The fact that they had all technically been teenagers less than 2 years ago shouldn't matter.

"Neji!" Hinata's voice was surprisingly confident and she had dropped the honorific off his name.

"Good evening, Hinata-sama," he greeted her cautiously.

"I am so glad you came!" she gushed.

"Hmm," he muttered. Since when had Hinata gushed? Neji eyed the glass in her hand with distaste. "I can't believe even you're drinking, Hinata-sama."

"Oh Neji, if not now then when? We are at peace, the only missions available are C and D rank, and we're all together."

"I still don't see why that means everyone has to act like a bunch of unruly kids."

"Perhaps it's because most of us never had the chance to be unruly kids. Our own childhood wasn't exactly conductive to goofing off and having fun," Hinata reminded him with a slight smile. "Sasuke and Naruto grew up alone, and this" she waved her hand around the bar, "is the closest thing they have to family. I'm glad that they feel comfortable enough to drink and have fun with us." She pointed to the left side of the room where Neji could see Chouji playing darts and flirting with TenTen. "When Chouji was a child, none of the children understood that his size is a part of his family's bloodline. They just knew he was "fat" and therefore different. I'm glad he's confident in who he is and finally has friends that accept him." Hinata cocked her head towards the back tables with a grin. "I'm especially glad that Ino and Sakura are friends again, even if they still have a guy between them."

Neji looked over and couldn't help but smile. Shikamaru looked as though he was in heaven. Two women with half their clothing off were pressed against him, but he wasn't required to do anything other than watch since they were more interested in each other.

"I'm just glad to see all my friends being themselves. If it takes a little alcohol to get there, so what? It may look like everyone here is drunk, but the sake is more of an excuse than a true reason."

"So why are you drinking Hinata? What do you hope a little sake will give you an excuse to do?" He wasn't sure why the answer was important, but it was.

"Me?" Hinata blushed and looked at some point beyond Neji's shoulder. "I guess I just wanted to see what it was like to forget about everything outside of this room. I wanted to see what life would be like if I was just Hinata, one of the Konoha jounin, and not Hinata, the Hyuuga heir. I-I," she paused and shook her head. "I think I need another drink," she laughed.

Neji suddenly wished for some sake too. He understood what Hinata meant now; he wanted an excuse for whatever became of this conversation. He turned around and grabbed a cup and a bottle of sake off a neighboring table ignoring the occupants' protests.

Neji poured himself a cup and smiled. "To a convenient excuse" he toasted quietly. Hinata gave him a warm smile and clinked her glass lightly against his. They took a deep drink and grimaced at the taste.

"I think we need to find a better tasting excuse," Hinata teased him with a laugh. "Still this," she nodded to the bottle of sake in his hand, "is the only reason I had the courage to approach you tonight."

"You should never be afraid to approach me," he admonished her. "Part of my job is protecting you, and-"

"That's the problem!" she interrupted him. "I wanted to talk to you like a friend, not as the heir you are supposed to protect. I want the casual conversation that all of our friends seem to have mastered. I just want to be myself, but I'm not even sure who that is."

Neji opened his mouth to respond, but she held a hand up and continued. "I want to be able to ask the other girl's for advice like TenTen does, or join in when my friends sing Karaoke like Sasuke did." She paused and took another sip from her cup. "I look around me and see my friends open and carefree, and it makes me happier than I can say. It makes me jealous though too, because I just don't know how to be that way."

"Neither do I." Neji was surprised to hear himself speak. He hadn't meant to admit his weakness out loud. He took a deep breath and continued. "I'm jealous when I see the way Shikamaru always waits for Chouji, or the way Sasuke let's Naruto help him home when he's tired from a mission and thinks nobody is watching. I want someone to care about me, to trust me that much."

"I trust you." Hinata's voice was quiet now and Neji had to strain to hear it. "I'm sorry I never told you, but I just get so shy and nervous." She licked her lips and looked to the side, avoiding Neji's eyes. "I want to be able to tell you how much I admire you, but I can never seem to get the words out. I think about telling you how much safer and, and, _happier,_ I felt when I found out that you would be my advisor once I became clan head."

"I want to tell you how proud I am that you are the heir; That I think you will be the best leader our clan has ever had." He said just as quietly. "The only reason I bring up your position so often is because I feel so lucky to be able to serve you."

"I was always afraid that you hated me for tying you back to the main house again." She told him shyly. "I felt guilty for taking up your time, and involving you in the clan's politics."

"Hinata, I've never wanted to make you feel like that, but I'm not very good at expressing myself." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed impatiently. "There are so many things I want to tell you, but I never do."

"You could tell me now." She spoke casually, but the blush on her cheeks betrayed her nervousness. "After all, we aren't used to drinking and…"

"You're right." Neji filled both of their cups again. His heart was pounding, but he knew this was his chance to open his heart to her. "I think about telling you how beautiful you are, and how I actually look forward to visiting the main house now, because you are there." He drank the rest of his sake in one swallow. "I think about telling you how I still have that ribbon you gave me when I was 4 years old, or how when I'm on a long mission and I get homesick, it's you that I'm thinking of."

"Neji, I-I," Hinata took a deep breath and followed his example, finishing her drink before speaking. "I think about telling you how worried I am when you are away, and how relieved I am when you come home safe. I want to tell you that the reason I started training early in the mornings was because I knew that was when you trained." The blush that seemed to always grace Hinata's delicate features was especially dark tonight, "Neji, about what you said earlier, about wanting someone to care about you and trust you. Well, I already do, and I always have." Her voice was barely above a whisper when she finished and she was staring into her cup as if it held the answers to all life's questions.

Neji stood there quietly and let her words sink in. It was what he had always wanted. Someone who accepted and cared for him unconditionally. The fact that it was Hinata was amazing, but wonderful.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that," she whispered. She turned away and strode towards the exit.

"Wait." Neji walked up to her and placed a hand on her small shoulder. "Please look at me, Hinata." She turned to him slowly and he took a moment to study her face. Her wide eyes and nervous smile were the same as when he had first seen her as a child. He smiled and ran his thumbs under her eyes where tears had begun to fall. "You've always been too good for me, Hinata. Even now you continue to amaze me with your kindness. I've trained my entire life trying to improve myself so that I could be someone that was worthy of your caring and respect, but you tell me that I've had it all along. It's a bit hard for me to grasp. Being told this, and by you, well it's just so much more than I expected. I'm just sorry it took us so long to have this conversation."

"Maybe we should have taken up drinking earlier." Hinata suggested.

"Yeah, or maybe we just need to find more excuses." Neji replied. He placed an arm around Hinata's shoulder carefully and maneuvered them towards the door. "I'd hate to have to drink that stuff every time I wanted to tell you that you're beautiful."

Hinata didn't reply, but the way she leaned her head against his shoulder told him everything he needed to know.


End file.
